Insurer Humana's 3Q profit climbs 13 percent (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS ? Humana Inc.'s third-quarter net income jumped 13 percent after another strong quarter of Medicare Advantage enrollment growth. The health insurer's shares hit a new 52-week high Monday after it also gave a better 2012 forecast than some analysts expected.

The Louisville, Ky., company said it expects 2012 earnings between $7.40 and $7.60 per share, which would lead to a drop from its projection for this year. But Humana typically starts with conservative earnings forecasts.

Many analysts expected an initial forecast from the company of $7 per share or less, Citi analyst Carl McDonald said in a research note. Health insurers have been helped the past several quarters by medical costs that have grown more slowly than expected. If that trend continues, the analyst said Humana earnings could top $9 next year.

Analysts expect, on average that the insurer will actually deliver earnings of $7.79 per share next year, according to FactSet.

The price of Humana shares hit $86.70 Monday morning, while broader trading indexes fell about 1 percent.

The managed-care sector is heading into 2012 buoyed by optimism. Cigna Corp. and WellPoint Inc. have both said they expect their earnings to grow next year. Aetna Chief Financial Officer Joe Zubretsky has said he's "bullish" on his company's prospects.

Health insurers entered 2011 uncertain about the impact of a new health care overhaul rule governing medical-loss ratios, which essentially measure the percentage of premiums insurers spend on care. The impact of that rule has turned out to be manageable and insurers face no such uncertainties heading into 2012

"Next year is sort of a quieter year in terms of regulatory issues, hopefully," Susquehanna analyst Chris Rigg said.

For the third quarter, Humana earned $444.7 million, or $2.67 per share. That compares with earnings of $393.2 million, or $2.32 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue climbed 11 percent to $9.3 billion.

Adjusted income was $2.54 per share, which easily beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected, on average, earnings of $2.03 per share on $9.26 billion in revenue.

Humana is the second-largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, privately run versions of the government's Medicare program. Subsidized by the government, the plans offer basic Medicare coverage topped with extras like vision or dental coverage or premiums lower than standard Medicare rates. Medicare accounts for 64 percent of Humana's revenue.

The company said individual Medicare Advantage membership climbed 10 percent compared with last year's quarter to 1.6 million people, mainly because of a successful enrollment season last fall. The insurer's Medicare prescription drug coverage enrollment also jumped 47 percent to 2.5 million people, helped by a low-cost drug plan it offers with retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

While Medicare Advantage enrollment grew, the company's commercial membership tumbled 9 percent in the third quarter to about 2.5 million people. Humana attributed that mainly to disciplined pricing, which means the insurer avoided dropping prices too low to boost enrollment.

Humana became the latest in a series of big health insurers to raise 2011 forecasts this month, following UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Humana Inc. and Cigna Corp. It now expects 2011 earnings of $8.35 to $8.40 per share. That's up from previous guidance of $7.50 to $7.60 per share. Analysts expect $7.69 per share.

The insurer's third-quarter performance and new 2011 forecast confirm "what was pretty much already known: 2011 has been an extremely strong year," Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Borsch said in a research note.

Humana shares fell back slightly from their 52-week high and were at $86.60 in early afternoon trading. That's up nearly 8 percent, or $6.25, from the previous trading day's close. The shares have climbed more than 58 percent so far this year.

The company's all-time high price at closing was $86.98, set Jan. 14, 2008.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_humana

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Tenn. protesters arrested for 2nd straight night

State Police arrest Occupy Nashville protestors early Friday morning Oct. 28, 2011 at the site where a few dozen Wall Street protesters have been encamped for about three weeks. Authorities began moving in early Friday using a newly enacted state policy that set a curfew for the grounds near the state Capitol, including Legislative Plaza where the protesters had been staying in tents. (AP Photo/JOHN PARTIPILO\ - THE TENNESSEAN)

State Police arrest Occupy Nashville protestors early Friday morning Oct. 28, 2011 at the site where a few dozen Wall Street protesters have been encamped for about three weeks. Authorities began moving in early Friday using a newly enacted state policy that set a curfew for the grounds near the state Capitol, including Legislative Plaza where the protesters had been staying in tents. (AP Photo/JOHN PARTIPILO\ - THE TENNESSEAN)

Occupy Nashville protestors who were arrested overnight at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville, hold up their citations after they were released from jail Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 in Nashville. Twenty-nine Wall Street protesters in Nashville have been issued misdemeanor citations for criminal trespassing after being arrested by state troopers overnight. (AP Photo/The Tennessean, John Partipilo) JOHN PARTIPILO/THE TENNESSEAN

Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons, left, and Col. Tracy Trott, commander of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, hold a press conferences about clearing Wall Street protesters from the Legislative Plaza across from the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Gibbons says Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's office approved a pre-dawn roundup of Wall Street protesters from the state Capitol grounds. Twenty-nine protesters were arrested overnight and issued misdemeanor citations for trespassing. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

State Police arrest Occupy Nashville protestors early Friday morning at the site where a few dozen Wall Street protesters have been encamped for about three weeks. Authorities began moving in early Friday using a newly enacted state policy that set a curfew for the grounds near the state Capitol, including Legislative Plaza where the protesters had been staying in tents. (AP Photo/JOHN PARTIPILO\ - THE TENNESSEAN)

State Police arrest Occupy Nashville protestors early Friday morning Oct. 28, 2011 at the site where a few dozen Wall Street protesters have been encamped for about three weeks. Authorities began moving in early Friday using a newly enacted state policy that set a curfew for the grounds near the state Capitol, including Legislative Plaza where the protesters had been staying in tents. (AP Photo/JOHN PARTIPILO\ - THE TENNESSEAN)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Tennessee state troopers for the second straight night arrested Wall Street protesters for defying a new nighttime curfew imposed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam in an effort to disband an encampment near the state Capitol.

And for a second time, a Nashville night judge dismissed arrest warrants of the arrested protesters.

The Tennessean newspaper reports that Magistrate Tom Nelson told troopers delivering the protesters to jail that he could "find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza."

Occupy Nashville protesters ? including many of the 29 arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Friday ? returned to the Legislative Plaza that evening and remained through the 10 p.m. curfew.

"To see it from the other side is even more infuriating," said Chip Allen, one of the protesters arrested in the first raid. "When you're in it, it's almost surreal. This takes on a whole 'nother flavor."

More than 200 people came to Friday evening's meeting to discuss the first round of arrests and future plans, though those numbers had dwindled as the night wore on and temperatures dropped.

There was no noticeable law enforcement presence for nearly two hours after the curfew went into effect, while adjacent theaters let out and patrons filtered back through the plaza to their cars without being challenged for violating the restrictions.

"Nothing was done to them, they were not arrested," said protester Michael Custer, 46. "But we are arrested while we are expressing our constitutional right to free speech."

Once the theater traffic cleared, dozens of state troopers descended on the plaza and began arresting protesters and a journalist for the Nashville Scene, an alternative weekly newspaper.

Troopers wouldn't give any details other than that a press release would be issued later Saturday. After the arrested protesters were handcuffed, photographed and put on a bus, one trooper told another at the scene that 26 people had been apprehended.

Protesters remaining at the scene vowed to return Saturday, even if it means more arrests.

The 29 demonstrators arrested early Friday were taken to the Nashville jail, only to have Nelson, the night judge, rule the state had not given them enough time to comply with the new curfew. They were instead issued misdemeanor citations for trespassing, which carry a $50 fine if they are found guilty.

It was not immediately clear whether other charges would be filed against those arrested Saturday morning.

The Haslam administration has cited what officials described as a deteriorating security and sanitary conditions on the plaza, saying that acts of lewd behavior had been observed by workers in state office buildings.

Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons said it was unrealistic to meet requests from protesters for a stronger law enforcement presence to help deter thefts and altercations often involving homeless people who had attached themselves to the encampment.

"We don't have the resources to go out and in effect babysit protesters 24-7 ... at the level that would have been necessary to address their concerns," Gibbons said during a press conference Friday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-29-Occupy%20Nashville/id-bbfcf36840a14ac8a437091fac579717

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In Time: Andrew Niccol on His Gattaca-Inspired New Film

I love the idea that Justin Timberlake?s character wakes up with basically 23 hours on his clock every day?and there are 24 hours in the day, obviously, so he has to work or die. He has to [get] more time. And then you have the flip side of that: Sylvia, who is Amanda Seyfried?s character, who has thousands of years at her disposal. And so she does nothing. She has bodyguards, drives around in an armored car, desperately trying not to risk or do anything [because people could try to steal her time].

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/digital/fact-vs-fiction/in-time-andrew-niccol-on-his-gattaca-inspired-new-film-6531927?src=rss

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Union backs Tevez, deeming City's fine too severe

By ROB HARRIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 4:50 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2011

LONDON (AP) -England's footballers' union is backing Carlos Tevez in his dispute with Manchester City, saying Thursday that the striker is being vilified by the club and his fine was too severe.

City fined Tevez four weeks' wages, which equates to around 800,000 pounds ($1.3 million), after finding him guilty of misconduct over a touchline dispute during the 2-0 loss at Bayern Munich last month.

City had asked the Professional Footballers Association to ratify the fine, but its chief executive Gordon Taylor backed the Argentina international after attending his disciplinary hearing.

"The charge was momentarily refusing to resume warming up - he never refused to play, he was desperate to play," Taylor said Thursday. "They are trying to portray he refused to play, which is serious and why he was vilified. No evidence that they presented suggested that.

"If the evidence was strong and irrefutable, that's gross misconduct, as serious as it gets and could be a termination of contract. That's not the case."

Tevez was suspended for two weeks by City after the row in Germany, but despite manager Roberto Mancini initially declaring that the Argentina international would never play for the club again, he received no further ban from the club's disciplinary panel.

Tevez's legal team is exploring whether anything initially said publicly by City could be construed as defamation of character as he maintains that he did not refuse to play.

Now Taylor could give evidence to back Tevez at an appeal. He would also have the right to a second appeal to the Premier League.

But among five contract breaches outlined by City, Tevez was said to have not met "an obligation to participate in any matches in which the player is selected to play for the club when directed by a club official".

The 2009 recruit from Manchester United was City's top scorer during its run to the FA Cup title last year that ended a 35-year trophy drought.

But has been largely out of favor since a failed attempt to secure a transfer in the offseason back to Brazilian club Corinthians, which he left in 2006 to join West Ham.

City maintains that Tevez will only be sold in the January transfer window if a club meets its asking price of around 40 million pounds ($80 million) for a player with almost three years remaining on his contract.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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No saint, but no racist

Cesc Fabregas says he is no saint but he did not direct any racist abuse toward Frederic Kanoute.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44691932/ns/sports-soccer/

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#NYCSciTweetUp No. 5 Is Tomorrow! And You Should Come!

By Krystal D'Costa?| October 26, 2011?|

Share ?Email

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Just a reminder that the 5th #NYCSciTweetUp will be tomorrow! Details on the location are finalized?we?ll meet at the Peculier Pub, at about 6:30 pm. You can always find the most up-to-date information on the?Facebook invite, so it would be a good idea to check before you head out the door.

It?s an informal gathering, so don?t be shy about introducing yourself and asking people if they?re science folks. We?re a friendly bunch. Really.

Special thanks to?Bora Zivkovic and?John Timmer for handling the details while I?ve been off of my feet (literally). I may not be able to join you all, but you should still go and have a good time!

As always, for more information about #NYCSciTweetUp, you can:

?

About the Author: Krystal D'Costa is an anthropologist working in digital media in New York City. You can follow AiP on Facebook. Follow on Twitter @krystaldcosta.

More??

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9a24b7dc812f5de4050696101d66a531

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BOJ to debate monetary easing, eyes on EU summit: sources (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? The Bank of Japan will likely debate easing monetary policy further on Thursday given the yen's renewed spike to record highs and growing doubts that European leaders will calm markets with a clear plan to rein in the region's debt crisis.

If the central bank were to act, it would likely top up its 50 trillion yen ($660 billion) asset-buying program by around 5 trillion yen, sources familiar with the bank's thinking have said.

The decision, however, will be a close call. BOJ policymakers will scrutinize the outcome of Wednesday's European summit and its market fallout in deciding whether to act now rather than later, the sources said.

Many in the BOJ have been hoping to hold off for now on using its limited policy options to support the economy, with exports holding up and fiscal spending for reconstruction from the March earthquake seen supporting domestic demand.

But the yen's renewed rise to record highs -- once last week and again in New York on Tuesday -- and the diminishing chances that Wednesday's summit will come up with a concrete plan to fix Europe's debt crisis have put pressure on the central bank for an immediate policy response.

"The BOJ shares our sense of crisis, so I'm sure they will take appropriate steps when necessary," Finance Minister Jun Azumi told reporters on Wednesday.

At Thursday's rate review, the BOJ will issue a twice yearly outlook report, where it is expected to cut its economic forecasts on slowing global growth and to project that core consumer inflation will be stuck near zero until early 2014.

While the central bank is expected to stick to its view that Japan's economy is headed toward a moderate recovery, it will stress heightening risks from abroad and from market moves -- notably the strong yen.

BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa has held to the recovery view, saying last week that solid growth in emerging markets would continue to underpin Japan's economy.

But some on the board have been more pessimistic about the outlook, on growing signs that Europe's debt crisis is starting to hurt emerging Asia -- Japan's key export market.

The yen's renewed rises and heightening uncertainty over the euro zone debt crisis talks may tip the board more in favor of easing immediately.

Any such move would be an attempt to forestall damage from adverse market moves to Japan's economy as it emerges from the painful aftermath of the March quake.

The BOJ eased monetary policy in August via an increase in its asset buying program, under which it buys assets ranging from government bonds to private debt, to alleviate the impact of sharp yen rises and to head off risks from the global economic slowdown.

It has stood pat since then but has expressed its readiness to ease again if Japan's recovery prospects come under threat.

Any further increase in asset purchases will likely be predominantly in government bonds. Some market players have said the BOJ should buy government bonds with longer maturities but that is a less likely option, even if the bank were to ease on Thursday.

(Editing by Joseph Radford and Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/bs_nm/us_japan_economy_boj

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COMMUNICATIONS SHUTDOWN: The Outer Limits of Obama's ...

On that day, federal authorities are going to shut off all television and radio communications simultaneously at 2:00PM EST to complete the first ever test of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).

This isn?t a wild conspiracy theory. The upcoming test is posted on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau website.

Only the President has the authority to activate EAS at the national level, and he has delegated that authority to the Director of FEMA. The test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration?s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS).

In essence, the authority to seize control of all television and civilian communication has been asserted by the executive branch and handed to a government agency.

The EAS has been around since 1994. Its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), started back in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, cable television and wireline video providers are all involved in the system.

So this begs the question: is the first ever national EAS test really a big deal?

Probably not. At least, not yet.

But there are some troubling factors all coming together right now that could conceivably trigger a real usage of the EAS system in the not too distant future. A European financial collapse could bring down U.S. markets. What is now the ?Occupy? movement could lead to widespread civil unrest. And there are ominous signs that radical groups such as Anonymous will attempt something major on November 5th- Guy Fawke?s day.

Now we know in the event of a major crisis, the American people will be told with one voice, at the same time, about an emergency.

All thats left to determine is who will have control of the EAS when that day comes, and what their message will be.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-you-know-feds-will-temporarily-cut-off-all-tv-and-radio-broadcasts-on-nov-9/

Hat Tip to the Blaze for being the only source to report on this to date

Americans Declare Their Independence from Barack Obama and the Socialist Democratic?Party?

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Source: http://twighlightslastgleaming.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/communications-shutdown-the-outer-limits-of-obamas-control-begins-november-9th-2011/

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UK lawmakers defy gov't over Europe (AP)

LONDON ? British lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly rejected a motion to hold a national referendum on leaving the European Union, but Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a bruising as several Conservative Party lawmakers rebelled against his orders and supported the bid.

The revolt within the ruling Conservative Party ranks underscored discontent with Cameron's stewardship ? an unhappiness that has grown following his handling of riots that gripped the nation in August and his decision to hire a suspect in Britain's phone-hacking scandal.

The motion for a referendum ? which was not binding on the government in the first place_ was handily defeated, with 483 lawmakers voting against having one and 111 voting in favor of it.

The government had ordered its lawmakers to vote against the referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU, leave it, or re-negotiate membership, and said those who backed it would face disciplinary action.

House of Commons leader Sir George Young told the BBC he believed 80 or 81 Tory MPs had rebelled

In a last ditch attempt to sway would-be rebels in his party, Cameron insisted the current economic crisis meant the "timing is wrong" to abandon the EU. But his appeal failed to resonate with several Conservatives ? a fact highlighted by dramatic proclamations from lawmakers during a more than five-hour debate that they would back the referendum despite the personal cost.

Conservative lawmaker Adam Holloway resigned his unpaid post as an aide to Europe minister David Lidington so he could vote in favor of a referendum.

"If you can't support a particular policy then the honest course of action is of course to stand down, and I want decisions to be made more closely by the people they affect, by local communities, not upwards towards Brussels," Holloway announced to cheers in the chamber.

Fellow Conservative Stewart Jackson said he was prepared, "with a heavy heart," to "take the consequences" of rebelling against the government order.

"For me constituency and country must come before the baubles of ministerial office," he told his fellow lawmakers.

Britain's role in Europe was once a bitterly divisive issue for Cameron's Tories, with the 1980s and 1990s marked by internal conflicts between those advocating closer links with the EU and legislators who favored leaving the now-27 nation bloc.

Former Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher famously railed against a "European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels," but found herself at odds with many pro-European Cabinet ministers.

The issue of Europe has also split Britain's current governing coalition. The Conservative Party's junior partners, the Liberal Democrats, are strongly pro-Europe.

Although a member of the EU, Britain is not among the 17 countries that use the euro single currency and are struggling to hammer out a bailout for debt-laden Greece.

Cameron's leadership has weathered fierce criticism in recent months for a slew of perceived missteps.

Cameron's judgment has repeatedly been called into question by his decision to hire as his communications chief an ex-News of the World editor implicated in the phone-hacking scandal at the now-shuttered tabloid. The prime minister's stature also took a blow when riots swept Britain in August. He was accused of a feeble initial response.

The prime minister also has been accused by critics of changing his tune toward Europe since being elected and doing too little to challenge EU legislation or European court rulings. He pledged Monday to wrest more powers away from Brussels and agreed that there is a need for fundamental EU reform. But he said it is in Britain's national interest to remain part of the EU and noted that the eurozone is in dire straits economically.

"When your neighbor's house is on fire, your first impulse should be to help them to put out the flames ? not least to stop the flames reaching your own house," Cameron said in a statement ahead of the vote. "This is not the time to argue about walking away, not just for their sakes, but for ours."

Monday's debate was triggered by a 100,000-signature public petition on the prime minister's website.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, a longtime euroskeptic, said that with the EU mired in a debt crisis and Britain's economy fragile, a referendum "would create additional economic uncertainty in this country at a difficult economic time."

"Europe is undergoing a process of change and in an in-out referendum people would want to know where the change was going to finish up before they voted," Hague told the BBC. "Clearly an in/out referendum is not the right idea."

____

Associated Press Writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_europe

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Obama mingles with Hollywood celebrities as he steps up his fundraising (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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AP Source: Big 12 approves WVU to replace Missouri (AP)

The Big 12 has approved bringing in West Virginia to replace Missouri when the Tigers complete their move to the Southeastern Conference, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the school nor the Big 12 had announced that its board of directors unanimously approved inviting West Virginia when Missouri's spot comes open.

The move would allow the Big 12 to maintain 10 members and is another blow to the embattled Big East, which already has lost two members and one member-to-be in the last six weeks.

The Big East is trying to reconfigure as a 12-team football league and has been courting Boise State, Navy and Air Force as football-only members and Central Florida, SMU and Houston for all sports. Commissioner John Marinatto met with officials from some of those schools Sunday in Washington.

Since there is no timetable for Missouri to complete its expected departure from the Big 12 ? and the league's board of directors announced that it expressed "a strong desire" for Missouri to stay during a Monday meeting ? there is no timetable for West Virginia to receive a formal invitation, the person said.

But the school will accept an invitation once it is offered, the person said.

Big 12 Commissioner Chuck Neinas has already said he expects Missouri to compete in the Big 12 in 2012, but all signs indicate Missouri is leaving and now the conference is prepared for that.

On Friday, the Missouri Board of Curators gave Chancellor Brady Deaton the authority to move the school out of the Big 12. The school has been considering a move to the SEC, where it would become that conference's 14th member and join Texas A&M, which made its move from the Big 12 official earlier this month.

The SEC has not publicly acknowledged interest in Missouri and Commissioner Mike Slive has said his conference was making plans to have 13 members next season, but there are scheduling problems ? especially in football ? that come with that number.

West Virginia has been the Big East's most successful football program since the league lost Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004 and '05. The Mountaineers have been to a bowl game every season since and won two BCS games.

Without West Virginia, only one of the original eight schools that made up the Big East's football conference when it began in 1991 will remain: Rutgers.

Last month, Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced they were leaving the Big East for the ACC, and earlier this month TCU reneged on its plans to join the Big East in 2012 to instead go to the Big 12.

Marinatto has said he plans to make Pitt and Syracuse abide by the league's bylaws and stay in the Big East for the next two years. The Big East's 27-month notification will likely be a hurdle for West Virginia to clear on its way to the Big 12.

TCU only must pay the league's $5 million exit fee.

The Big East presidents voted last week to double that fee to $10 million if the league added either Navy or Air Force, but the conference has not formally invited any new members yet.

It's unclear how the loss of West Virginia will affect the Big East's expansion plans. The Big East made protecting its status as a BCS automatic qualifying conference its expansion priority, and adding Boise State's high successful football program to the conference with West Virginia had league officials optimistic.

Boise State President Bob Kustra has said that getting into conference with an automatic bid to the BCS was one of his top priorities, but the stability of the Big East was a concern. Boise State is in its first season in the Mountain West Conference. Air Force also plays in the MWC. Navy is an independent in football.

To replace West Virginia, the Big East could turn to Temple, which was also being considered before the conference decided to try to add the two Texas schools from Conference USA.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_west_virginia_big12

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No reports yet of debris from falling satellite (AP)

BERLIN ? Scientists were trying to establish how and where a defunct German research satellite returned to the Earth Sunday, after warning that some parts might survive re-entry and crash at up to 280 mph (450 kph).

There was no immediate solid evidence to determine above which continent or country the ROSAT scientific research satellite entered the atmosphere, said Andreas Schuetz, spokesman for the German Aerospace Center.

Most parts of the minivan-sized satellite were expected to burn up, but up to 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could crash.

Scientists were no longer able to communicate with the dead satellite and it must have traveled about 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) in the final 30 minutes before entering the atmosphere, Schuetz said.

Schuetz said it could take days to determine exactly where pieces of the satellite had fallen, but that the agency had not received any reports that it had hit any populated areas.

"We have no such information," he said Sunday.

Scientists said hours before the re-entry into the atmosphere that the satellite was not expected to hit over Europe, Africa or Australia. According to a precalculated path it could have been above Asia, possibly China, at the time of its re-entry, but Schuetz said he could not confirm that.

The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars and performing the first all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope.

The largest single fragment of ROSAT that could hit into the earth is the telescope's heat-resistant mirror.

During its mission, the satellite orbited about 370 miles (600 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, but since its decommissioning it has lost altitude, circling at a distance of only 205 miles (330 kilometers) above ground in June for example, the agency said.

Even in the last days, the satellite still circled the planet every 90 minutes, making it hard to predict where on Earth it would eventually come down.

A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage, despite fears it would hit a populated area and cause damage or kill people.

Experts believe about two dozen metal pieces from the bus-sized satellite fell over a 500-mile (800 kilometer) span.

The German space agency puts the odds of somebody somewhere on Earth being hurt by its satellite at one in 2,000 ? a slightly higher level of risk than was calculated for the NASA satellite. But any one individual's odds of being struck are one in 14 trillion, given there are 7 billion people on the planet.

___

Online:

The German space agency on ROSAT: http://bit.ly/papMAA

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_re_eu/falling_satellite

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Costly Iraq war may mark shift in US approach

Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, left, shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Leon Panetta during their bilateral meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Panetta will join 10 ASEAN defense ministers in a meeting beginning in Bali on Monday. Indonesia is Panetta?s first stop during his first official Asian tour, which will also include Japan and South Korea. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, left, shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Leon Panetta during their bilateral meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Panetta will join 10 ASEAN defense ministers in a meeting beginning in Bali on Monday. Indonesia is Panetta?s first stop during his first official Asian tour, which will also include Japan and South Korea. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

President Barack Obama concludes his remarks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama leaves after speaking in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010 file photo, U.S. Army soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division race toward the border from Iraq into Kuwait. President Barack Obama on Friday Oct. 21, 2011 declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all American troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

BALI, Indonesia (AP) ? In the final days of the U.S. war in Iraq, the outlook for America's military entanglements is markedly different from the confusing, convulsive first days.

Early on Iraq looked, to many, like one in a string of big conflicts in a "war on terror."

That was the view of John Abizaid when the now-retired Army general led U.S. forces in Iraq in 2003-04. At a U.S. base in northern Iraq one day in early 2004, Abizaid told soldiers preparing to return home that he hoped they would remain in uniform and keep building combat experience.

Asked by an Associated Press reporter why he had made that pitch, Abizaid said, "I think the country is going to face more of these (ground wars) in the years ahead."

That was a widely accepted, and often dreaded, view at the time.

Now, with the last American troops set to depart by year's end, Iraq seems more likely to signal an end to such long and enormously costly undertakings in the name of preventing another terrorist attack on U.S. soil ? at least under the administration of President Barack Obama. He opposed the Iraq war and has declared that "the tides of war are receding."

With Obama also pledging to end the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan within three years, the military's focus is turning to places such as Yemen and Somalia.

There, the approach is different. Aerial drones, proxy forces and small teams of U.S. commandos are the preferred formula for containing the Islamic extremists who would plot terrorist attacks against the U.S.

Libya, too, has so far been a case for limited U.S. military intervention. The U.S. cleared the sky ahead of a NATO-led air campaign to protect civilians without putting any troops on the ground.

It took about eight months and cost the U.S. about $1.1 billion to achieve the Libyan rebels' goal of toppling Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

The potential for bigger conflicts persists in places such as Pakistan, whose growing arsenal of nuclear weapons sets it apart from other potential hot spots.

Iran is a major worry, too, in light of its suspected drive to build a nuclear bomb and its proclaimed goal of wiping out Israel. But a U.S. invasion of Iran, on a scale like Iraq, seems highly unlikely for now.

There are other troublesome security challenges facing the U.S., including in Asia where China is expanding its military and asserting its influence.

But the Obama approach ? not unique, but distinctive in comparison to that of his predecessor, George W. Bush ? is to try to prevent festering security problems from growing into full-blown crises.

The U.S. military can play a role in those cases without being called on to invade and depose a government.

Robert Gates captured this idea in a speech last winter to Army cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in which he said it would be unwise to ever fight another war like Iraq or Afghanistan.

"In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should 'have his head examined,' as General MacArthur so delicately put it," Gates said.

Even with the Iraq exit in sight, the U.S. military is unlikely to wash its hands of the problems it will leave behind after nearly nine years of fighting. Wars don't end that neatly, and it is yet to be seen whether U.S. troops take on new missions in Iraq in 2012 to keep the country on track.

Obama is ending the U.S. role in the Iraq war, but that does not necessarily mean the war itself is ending.

Al-Qaida in Iraq remains. Ethnic and sectarian tensions persist. Chaos could again descend upon the country, testing the resilience of Iraqis who suffered enormously under Saddam Hussein and again during the U.S. war.

Even after the U.S. declares an end to its presence in Iraq in December, about 157 U.S. service personnel are expected to remain, working out of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad under Army Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.

Their job will be to oversee security assistance to the Iraqi government, as similar embassy contingents do in many other Persian Gulf countries and beyond.

About 760 private contractors working for the State Department will help the Iraqis field new military equipment purchased from the U.S. and give them initial training on that equipment. But that is not the depth and scale of training that many U.S. military officers believe the Iraqis need.

On his flight to Indonesia on Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters that negotiations with Iraq on future training possibilities will begin later.

If such talks are held, they likely would start either when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visits Washington in December or after the end of the year, according to a senior U.S. defense official familiar with the discussions.

The officer spoke Sunday on condition that he not be identified because the issue of possible future U.S. training is highly sensitive.

___

Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-10-24-US-Future%20Wars/id-bbfa124c210347a59a9c55fbe009729c

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Why ghosts get 'spooked' by HD cameras

"Paranormal Activity 3," the latest in a series of successful low-budget horror films about amateur ghost hunters, opens on Friday. The first film, released in 2007, was a surprise indie hit around the world.

The films are shot in a "found footage" style, in which the audience is treated to footage supposedly taken in real life from home videos and security cameras. This technique, often involving handheld cameras and actors talking to the camera operator, has been around for years but was widely popularized in the 1999 film "The Blair Witch Project."

The grainy, low-budget look of the films is no accident; it was done partly because the films actually are low-budget, and partly for added "realism." The fact that the low-quality picture skips and jitters adds to the suspense, and Horror Filmmaking 101 teaches that a dark, partly obscured monster is much scarier than one that's seen clearly in bright light.

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   4. Why ghosts get 'spooked' by HD cameras

It's been an effective technique in the first two films, scaring up hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. And it's also true in real-life ghost hunting: Virtually all of the "evidence" for ghosts appears in the form of brief, ambiguous anomalies recorded with low-quality cameras (or good-quality cameras sabotaged by low-light conditions).

People have long reported weird, ghostly and paranormal activity, but perhaps the biggest mystery is why the evidence ? especially the photographic evidence ? hasn't improved. Are ghosts afraid of high-definition cameras?

Review: 'Paranormal Activity 3' is pretty scary

The idea that amateur ghost hunters wandering in the dark with crummy video cameras are going to uncover genuine evidence of a spirit realm unknown to science seems absurd. Nonetheless, the SyFy show "Ghost Hunters" has been wildly popular for years ? it was recently picked up for an eighth season ? despite the fact that the team has never found scientific evidence for ghosts.

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The show is, of course, entertainment television instead of real investigation, but what about the hundreds of amateur ghost-hunting groups around the world inspired by the show?

If ghosts exist, you would expect the photographic and video evidence for them should improve dramatically as more and more people look for them with better and better equipment.

There are more people actively trying to document paranormal activity than ever. And, thanks to smartphones, at no time in history have so many people had high-quality cameras on hand virtually all the time.

Today there's no excuse for anyone to capture grainy photos or video images of anything, whether it's your aunt in a horrid floral hat, Bigfoot in the woods, or paranormal activity in your hallway. And yet that is so often the quality of the footage that makes the rounds on the internet. [ Mythical Creatures: Beasts That Don't Really Exist (or Do They?) ]

Last weekend, Apple sold 4 million iPhone 4S units, each of them equipped with a built-in high definition 1080p camera featuring state-of-the-art optics, image stabilization, automatic lighting adjustment and other features that rival cameras used by Hollywood videographers only a few years ago. Perhaps one of those iPhone users will finally record some clear evidence of ghosts.

High definition provides more image information, which helps identify things often mistaken for ghosts, such as random shadows, unnoticed reflections and video artifacts. With those ghost impostors more easily dismissed, any real ghostly images should be sharper and clearer than ever before.

The age of amateurs posting questionable video evidence of the paranormal should be coming to an end. Professional ghost hunters, however, might well continue using cameras that produce low-quality images. After all, that's where the ghosts appear.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44991420/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Obama announces total Iraq troop withdrawal

President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, where he declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all American troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.

Obama's statement put an end to months of wrangling over whether the U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011. He never mentioned the tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Iraq over whether to keep several thousand U.S. forces there as a training force and a hedge against meddling from Iran or other outside forces.

Instead, Obama spoke of a promise kept, a new day for a self-reliant Iraq and a focus on building up the economy at home.

"I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," Obama said. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

Obama spoke after a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and he offered assurances that the two leaders agreed on the decision.

The U.S. military presence in Iraq stands at just under 40,000. All U.S. troops are to exit the country in accordance with a deal struck between the countries in 2008 when George W. Bush was president.

Obama, an opponent of the war from the start, took office and accelerated the end of the conflict. In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over.

"Over the next two months our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home," Obama said. "The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops."

More than 4,400 American military members have been killed since the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq in March 2003.

The Associated Press first reported last week that the United States would not keep troops in Iraq past the year-end withdrawal deadline, except for some soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy.

Denis McDonough, the White House's deputy national security adviser, said that in addition to the standard Marine security detail, the U.S. will also have 4,000 to 5,000 contractors to provide security for U.S. diplomats, including at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and U.S. consulates in Basra and Erbil.

In recent months, Washington had been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces.

Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans refused to stay without that guarantee.

Moreover, Iraq's leadership has been split on whether it wanted American forces to stay.

When the 2008 agreement requiring all U.S. forces to leave Iraq was passed, many U.S. officials assumed it would inevitably be renegotiated so that Americans could stay longer.

The U.S. said repeatedly this year it would entertain an offer from the Iraqis to have a small force stay behind, and the Iraqis said they would like American military help. But as the year wore on and the number of American troops that Washington was suggesting could stay behind dropped, it became increasingly clear that a U.S. troop presence was not a sure thing.

The issue of legal protection for the Americans was the deal-breaker.

But administration officials said they feel confident that the Iraqi security forces are well prepared to take the lead in their country. McDonough said assessment after assessment of the preparedness of Iraqi forces concluded that "these guys are ready; these guys are capable; these guys are proven; importantly, they're proven because they've been tested in a lot of the kinds of threats that they're going to see going forward.

"So we feel very good about that."

Pulling troops out by the end of this year allows both al-Maliki and Obama to claim victory.

Obama kept a campaign promise to end the war, and al-Maliki will have ended the American presence and restored Iraqi sovereignty.

The president used the war statement to once again turn attention back to the economy, the domestic concern that is expected to determine whether he wins re-election next year.

"After a decade of war the nation that we need to build and the nation that we will build is our own, an America that sees its economic strength restored just as we've restored our leadership around the globe."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-21-US-Iraq/id-17b04f7ec60b4664a4aacd9afaf193bf

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Fraud case leaves California Democrats scrambling

By Mary Slosson

LOS ANGELES | Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:41pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stunning accusations that a top California Democratic campaign treasurer looted the war chests of her big-name clients have left candidates across the state scrambling to raise more money as election season looms.

Kinde Durkee, who controlled the funds of roughly 400 candidates and groups, ranging from Senator Dianne Feinstein to local Democratic youth clubs, was arrested in September and charged with fraud.

While the extent of the losses isn't yet clear, the coffers of dozens of Democratic politicians have been frozen, prompting the crippled campaigns to ask the California Fair Political Practices Commission to permit further donations from contributors who have already given the maximum.

Feinstein, seeking re-election in 2012, has been forced to start from "square one" to raise campaign money, said Bill Carrick, political strategist and consultant to the Senator.

But a commission official said it wasn't that simple.

"It's quite clear that we can't just say 'the contribution limit is set aside'," California Fair Political Practices Commission chair Ann Ravel said, adding that the commission's legal team was researching what options were permissible by law.

Feinstein donated $5 million of her own money to her re-election bid after the campaign lost access to an estimated $5.2 million, Carrick said. The senator has sued Durkee for fraud and breach of contract in a lawsuit that also accused First California Bank of aiding that fraud.

Durkee, the 58-year-old daughter of a Hollywood pastor, is accused of co-mingling money in the roughly 400 accounts she controlled at the bank, making it unclear to whom any recovered money actually belongs.

The bank reported $2.5 million in Durkee-controlled accounts, according to court documents, far less than the at least $9.8 million that her clients had raised, according to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

"We lost at least $200,000 and the impact of that, for us, is much more immediate than it is for most candidates," Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair Eric Bauman said.

"We've got more than 50 races on the November 11 ballot. Our ability to support our endorsed candidates in these local elections is significantly affected," Bauman said, adding that the loss represents 90 percent of the party's total funds.

'GOING TO BE TOUGH'

If a donor's campaign contributions were never received, Ravel said, there is a possibility that they could donate again. The commission hopes to decide if and how donors could contribute again by its next hearing on November 10.

That deadline, however, would be too late for local elections slated for the following day, and the sudden loss of funds will be most acutely felt in grass-roots operations.

"It's definitely going to be tough," Carrick said. "It's going to be very difficult for them to replenish that kind of money."

Not everybody is as sympathetic to the sudden fund-raising challenges facing the California Democratic campaigns.

"Most of these Democrats are very influential, powerful incumbents, and the political parties are able to contribute as much as they want to the candidates," said Allan Hoffenblum, a former Republican political consultant.

"I don't think any client of (Durkee's) will lose because of this. There's plenty of money out there," he said

Durkee, who has been called the "Bernie Madoff of campaign finance treasurers" by one former client, Representative Susan Davis of San Diego, admitted to using campaign funds for her own personal expenses, according to court documents.

The mail fraud case against her in federal court alleges that Durkee used campaign donations to make mortgage payments and pay her American Express bills.

"Durkee admitted that she had been misappropriating her clients' money for years and that forms she filed with the state were false," according to an account of an interview by Federal Bureau of Investigations agents in September, according to the federal complaint.

The bank angered clients when it handed over control of the 398 bank accounts associated with Durkee to a California state court on September 23, recusing itself from sorting out how much of the recovered money should be doled out to whom.

"In yet another attempt to escape liability for the fiasco that they helped create, First California Bank has turned most of the accounts that Durkee controlled over to the courts," the Los Angeles County Democratic Party said.

It added that smaller parties who lost funds lack the financial resources to fight in court to get their money back.

First California Bank marketing director Diane Dickerson told Reuters: "It will all come out in time, I promise." She declined further comment.

Durkee is next expected to appear in court in December. Her attorney could not be reached for comment and a phone number listed in court documents as belonging to her appeared to have been disconnected.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/22/us-campaign-california-fraud-idUSTRE79L1S120111022?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

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Britney Spears - Criminal

Criminal

• Artist: Britney Spears
• Label: RCA
• Director: Chris Pilero

Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=501686&vid=703015

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Increased safety using simultaneous techniques for cardiac testing

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2011) ? Canadian Journal of Cardiology has published a paper on the safety of cardiac imaging methods. This study is important for patients worried about radiation exposure during X-ray based studies of the heart. X-ray based methods have greatly improved the diagnosis of heart disease, but they can produce significant levels of radiation exposure.

New imaging methods offer the possibility of much safer external investigations for conditions that in the past required potentially dangerous probes within the body (like wires or tubes within blood vessels). One example is high-definition CT scans to look at the arteries of the heart and diagnose coronary artery disease. However, such procedures have required radiation levels that could themselves be potentially dangerous. Dr. Heydari et al. provide the first report of high-definition CT scans with the simultaneous application of several techniques to reduce the level of radiation to much safer values.

In an accompanying editorial in the same issue of Canadian Journal of Cardiology titled, "Cardiac Computed Tomography and Risks of Radiation Exposure: How Low Can We Go?," Paul Galiwango, MD, commented that although the study has limitations, the results demonstrate that reduction techniques are feasible and should be adopted whenever possible. They offer the challenge, "Do we need to go even lower?"

"Previous studies have shown that radiation exposure during cardiac diagnostic tests can increase cancer risk. This paper reports how various new methods can be applied to reduce radiation exposure during cardiac diagnostic tests by about 75-85%. The procedures they describe can greatly reduce patient risk," comments Stanley Nattel, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

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Journal Reference:

1. Bobak Heydari, Jonathon Leipsic, G.B. John Mancini, James K. Min, Troy LaBounty, C. Taylor, Gabriela V. Cohen Freue, Brett Heilbron. Diagnostic Performance of High-Definition Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Performed With Multiple Radiation Dose Reduction Strategies. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 2011; 27 (5): 606 DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2010.12.026

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019105510.htm

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Motorola Motoactv hands-on (update: video with Dean Karnazes!)

So when Motorola teased its "faster, thinner, smarter, stronger" event we were pretty sure that was a not-so-subtle reference to the 7mm-thick Droid RAZR. As it turns out, the company was also being quite literal. Instead of a Xoom 2, the outfit rounded out its New York City presser with Motoactv, an iPod Nano-like touchscreen device that plays music and keeps track of your various fitness vitals. While we couldn't take it more than a few feet away from the pedestal where it was on display, we did get to poke around its UI for a few minutes and put that 600MHz processor to the test. You know the drill: hands-on photos below, along with impressions and a short vid after the break.

Gallery: Motoactv hands-on

Joseph Volpe and Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Continue reading Motorola Motoactv hands-on (update: video with Dean Karnazes!)

Motorola Motoactv hands-on (update: video with Dean Karnazes!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/18/motorola-motoactv-hands-on/

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CE-Oh no he didn't: Steve Ballmer lays into Android

"You don't have to be a computer scientist to use a Windows Phone," said Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, "but you do to use an Android phone." He was addressing the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco, where we guess his audience must have included a large but silent population of Android-loving non-scientists. In any case, the Redmond CEO also revealed that he just can't get "excited" about Android phones, which proves that anything can be boring if you're rich enough -- including raking in up to $15 per Android handset in cross-licensing deals. On a serious note, though, HTC's latest Titan handset shows off the Mango experience at its best and it is simpler than Google's OS. If Windows Phone sales eventually pick up despite the buzz over Android 4.0, then the point beneath Ballmer's bluster might not seem so unreasonable.

CE-Oh no he didn't: Steve Ballmer lays into Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/dOK6Outk2-I/

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